There is no forward, or preface to this book. There is a nice copyright page in the back of the book. The print is nicely done too. This book has 14 stories. They are: Fergus O'Hara, Dectective; Chip; Opportunity; A Craving for Originality; One of Those Cases (A "Nameless Detective" Story); I Didn't Do It; Quicker Than the Eye (with Michael Kurland); Angel of Mercy; Connoisseur; Mrs. Rakubian; Smuggler's Island; A Taste of Paradise; Under the Skin; Prose Bowl (with Barry Malzberg). I did not like the Prose Bowl or Craving for Originality stories. The rest were a good mix of stories set from the Civil War to the future. I haven't read any of these in any other anthology so far and that's a first for me.

Private eye writer, Bill Pronzini, takes us on a roller coaster of strange twists and turns in this collection of fourteen short stories. Oddments is truly odd in terms of its strange, yet endearing characters, and the various subjects which are presented. You will be surprised about how far reaching the imagination of our private eye author can go.

"And Then We Went to Venus" sounds more like a science fiction story than a mystery. Our author adds a twist to the story which keeps you on edge as to what happened to those astronauts who visited the planet. Compulsive gamblers will be delighted by the irony that touches "Shade Work" and driven crazy by figuring out the odds in "Liar's Dice". Do you hate practical jokers? Find out what happens to one when he goes too far in "The Dispatching of George Ferris".

The stories are entertaining, some are to easy to figure out but overall Pronzini has given readers a broad spectrum of his short stories. A collection such as this would not be complete without a "Nameless" Detective story. Pronzini obliges us with one where Nameless takes on more than he can handle.

Sit back and enjoy these stories. They are a fast read and touch on areas that causes you to think twice before making your own judgement.

San Francisco is a handsome book containing 90 photographs of San Francisco in the mid-1980s. It is oddly shaped at 10.5" wide and 8.75" tall. The photographs are excellent. There is a good, but rather short, introduction by mystery writer Bill Pronzini; and many of the photographs are of buildings and locations mentioned in the mysteries of Pronzini and Hammett.
The captions are minimal, yet informative and entertaining. The book consists of 92 unnumbered pages and is published by Skyline Press.

Bill Pronzini is my favorite mystery writer working today. "Undercurrent" is the third installment in the Nameless Detective series. Newlywed Judith Paige hires Nameless to find out if her husband is having an affair. Nameless follows Walter Paige to a motel room in Cypress Bay, where Paige is murdered. Nameless must found out who murdered Paige, and investigates. As he investigates, the list of suspects grows. This novel is not one of Pronzini's best-known books, but it is well worth reading, especially if you're planning to read all the Nameless Detective mysteries.

While hard to obtain (it's out of print) Witches' Brew is an smorgasbord of female horror fiction. Check out Charlotte Perkins Gillman's The Yellow Wallpaper, a literary classic about women's oppression during the victorian age. Jane Rice's Idol of the Flies offers a chilling impression of the horrors of childhood. My favorite, Where Their Fire Is Not Quenched, is a stark tale of values and sins of the flesh.

Steve Giroux. alone in New Orleans during Mardis Gras, gets caught up in a swirling nightmare. Strange phone calls to his hotel room instruct him to "deliver the photograph" to a certain place, at a certain time, or face the consequences. This is gibberish to him, though he is a photographer by profession, but any plans he considers that involve packing his things and bolting on out of there get scuppered when his plane tickets get stolen.

Out on the streets, searching for answers, he forms strange liasons with two very different women, whom he had met in the earlier chapters while out searching for a good time. There is young, beautiful Juleen's fascination with voodoo--a pastime Steve scorns until he is pulled into that part of her world against his will, and he starts receiving anonymous mementoes that are definitely linked to voudun ritual, and signify danger in his future. Then there is Mona, who meets him on one of the crowded streets while watching a parade; Mona the levelheaded redhead who falls for Steve rather quickly and tries to help him discover why he is being followed by two different men: one in a dragon mask, and another in a devil mask.

At a crucial point in the novel, Steve wakes up after a night with one of the women, in a strange house, alone and with blood on his hands, and the scent of death emanating from down in the cellar. He faces two challenges from then on: try and produce a photograph in time to beat a midnight deadline ("or we'll cut your head off"), and try and find out if he's a killer, or just the victim of some elaborate set-up. He receives help from one of the new women in his life, but discovers he may not be able to trust her.

The finale is anticlimactic, and Steve is a bit aimless and ineffective when it comes to solving his own problems, relying on a woman who basically offers to take charge of clearing things up, with the gun in her purse, if necessary. But the Mardi Gras detail, out on the streets where Steve frequently wanders while searching for answers, is lively and energetic. I just wish there had been more interesting meaning to the madness that sees Steve threatened, kidnapped, beaten up, and chased through the swamp. It's the ending that falls a trifle flat.

All the time I was reading Masques I could not stop from thinking that, if these events were happening to me, I'd just leave town. Nonetheless there are some truly disturbing and blood chilling moments in this suspense thriller that, even several years after reading it, I can still clearly recall. That says someting about Pronzini's skill as a writer. Recommended

Steven Giroux suffers from nightmares. But, he stumbles into one during his waking hours that is far more frightening than his nocturnal episodes. A good, solid, scary, thriller/mystery. Not Pronzini'z best, but still very good. Bill Pronzini is one of the major talents in fiction today. His "Nameless Detective" series is classic. It baffles me that he is not better known by the general reading public. Maybe this book will be a good introduction to his talent. But, reader, don't stop here! explore the tresures of this prolific writer.

I have to agree with some of the other Amazon reviewers that the writing style of this book is ameteurish: flat, stilted, one-dimensional. At first, I gave the author the benefit of the doubt and assumed that he was parodying Gothic conventions, both in plot contrivances and in style. But, no, I think the writing is just bad. However, it is a fast, easy read and I guess I'm glad I finished the book. The twist ending(s) almost made it worthwhile. A young struggling woman inherits a house and a fortune, out of the blue, and her life changes instantly. Some characters are out to get the inheritance for themselves, others want to help the young woman, and figuring out who's who provides a few minutes of pleasure. The characters and the set-up have promise, but the shoddy writing throws away any good will the reader builds up toward the author. As noted above, there are a couple of mighty big twists at the end, and they do give you an interesting outlook on what you've been reading, but it's not really enough to redeem all those pages of poor prose style and cardboard characters.

I have been a fan of Tom Savage's since reading Valentine and couldn't wait to start this book. I thought the beginning was very well written, but this book lags in the middle. I kept thinking I knew what was going to happen, so why bother finishing it? I almost put it down but stuck with it and I'm glad I did!

I never saw the end plot twist coming at all, I was SHOCKED when I read it! Let me just say this, no one is who they appear to be. My advice is, if you read this book, is stick with it through the middle part which is some what boring, the pay off is worth it in the end! Now that I've read all of Mr Savage's brilliant novels, I just hope he puts another one out soon!

Former travel agent, Holly Smith has recently discovered that she is the heir to the Randall fortune. When she was a baby she was put up for adoption and now her grandfather wishes to leave all his fortune to her after his death. She is unaware of the circumstances of her adoption but once she comes to live at Randall House she will learn the truth. Holly's other relatives are not happy with her appearance since she now owns most of the Randall Estate. They want her dead and make it look like an accident in order to get their hands on the money.

If you have not read any of Tom Savage's novels you are in for a treat. Things are not what they seem. This book has its requisite twist and turns with a surprise ending. Unfortunately most of his novels carry the same formula. If you have never read his novels you will enjoy this one, if you read him before the surprise will be lost on you.

Marcia Muller and Bill Pronzini, Beyond the Grave (Carroll and Graf, 1986)

Marcia Muller and Bill Pronzini team up for a novel that takes place in two times focusing on the same mystery. Elena Oliverez, in the present day, accidentally stumbles upon a piece of the report of one Detective Quincannon, hired to find the stolen treasures of a Mexican ranchero in the 1890s. As Oliverez gets absorbed in Quincannon's story, she finds herself looking to solve the mystery Quincannon wasn't able to uncover eighty years previously.

The two stories interlock without a hitch, and both Oliverez and Quincannon are engaging protagonists. This is quick, easy beach fare; fast-paced, homey, digestible, and well worth the time for mystery fans. Those who haven't yet discovered either Muller or Pronzini, this is one of many good starting points...

The best thing about being a Marcia Muller and Bill Pronzini fan is that there always seems to be a book by one of them that I somehow missed. Sure, I've read every Sharon McCone and Nameless Detective novel, their short story collections, and many of Pronzini's stand-alones; however, these married authors have written and edited DOZENS of books, including many that are out of print. What a treasure trove for the discerning reader of suspense!

As far as I can determine, Muller and Pronzini have collaborated on three novels: LIGHTHOUSE, a stand-alone thriller; DOUBLE, a Nameless/McCone mystery; and BEYOND THE GRAVE, featuring two of the authors' lesser-known series characters, Muller's art museum director Elena Oliverez and Pronzini's late-19th-century San Francisco detective John Quincannon. As in DOUBLE, the authors alternate -- first, we get a few chapters told from Oliverez's point of view, and then we switch to Quincannon. What makes this collaboration noteworthy is that the Quincannon chapters take place in 1894, Oliverez's in the 1980s.

Oliverez has bought a Mexican wedding chest at auction for her art museum, and when she's examining it, she finds an old report written by Quincannon inside a hidden compartment. He had been on the trail of some lost religious artifacts, but apparently was never able to find them. By using Quincannon's report, Oliverez hopes to recover the valuable pieces. In the process of searching, both characters encounter murder and face danger.

The story flows seamlessly between past and present. While these may be the authors' second-string characters, this book is definitely never second rate.

"Scattershot' is a week in the life of Bill Pronzini's "Nameless Detective." And what a bad week it is. He fears he's losing his girlfriend (introduced in the previous novel, "Hoodwink"), has a crazy client's husband murdered right under his nose, and finds himself accused of both negligence AND theft. Not to mention that he hates his new office space. Overall, this edition of the Nameless series is good, but not amoung the best. Part of the problem is that the three seperate mysteries compete for time with the personal stuff in a book that's relatively brief at just over 200 pages in trade paperback form. As a result, the cases are a bit by-the-numbers and far too easilly resolved. Nameless fans will probably enjoy it, but I would recommend newcomers start with either "Hoodwink" or "Shackles" instead.

After penning seven Nameless Detective novels and countless other books, short stories & novellas (some under pseudonyms), Bill Pronzini aims for a tour de force -- Nameless is confronted with three unrelated crimes to solve, all in under 200 pages! The San Francisco's PI's deductive abilities are so incredible that I admit it strained my credulity a bit. However, it's an interesting idea (usually, when a PI is faced with unrelated cases, they turn out to be linked in some way -- not so here, thank goodness) so give Pronzini credit for trying something different. The hardships faced by Nameless in this book (the loss of his professional license, trouble with his girlfriend Kerry) made me eager to proceed to Book 9 to see if there are better days ahead for our hero.

Bill Pronzini's nameless detective is face with three locked-room mysteries in this tight novel. Not only that, but the detective is having problems with Kerry, the woman whom he wants to marry and who is not sure she wants to marry him. "Scattershot" is almost a collection of interwoven short stories as the nameless detective seeks to explain how a man apparently disappears from a car under observation, how a woman is killed in a locked cabin but not by the only other person in the cabin, and how a jewel thief pulls off a theft from an empty room under constant observation.

The story is rather bleak as the nameless detective, despite his proficiency in solving the three cases, faces license revocation and the loss of his love. The novel is also rather fascinating for the way in which Pronzini interweaves the three apparently unconnected mysteries. As with Pronzini's other work, "Scattershot" is well written. And the three "impossible" crimes are clever and fun. But the problems facing the nameless detective make this book a bleak, if well done, read.